Article by Canada Council for the Arts. Published on March 31, 2026.
Read the full article: https://canadacouncil.ca/spotlight/2026/03/when-kids-find-the-arts
Excerpt:
The first time Lynda Hill saw a child crawl onto a stage during a live performance, the little one leaned against the knee of a cello player and looked up at the musician as if to say, “Yes, that’s what I want.” The intrusion, which was more than welcome, took place at WeeFestival, the only international children’s contemporary arts festival in Toronto. Founded by Hill in 2014 as a biennial event, the early-years fest now draws enough demand to run annually and tour productions across the country and abroad.
At Petits bonheurs in Montréal, a children’s cultural festival marking its 22nd edition this year, Artistic and General Director Esther Duquette recalls a similar breakthrough. “During my first festival, a little boy who had just attended a show at Langelier Public Library in Montréal’s east end told me that he walked past the library every day with his mother, but this was the first time he had ever gone inside,” she says. “I like to think we planted a little seed that day—a seed that tells him, ‘Culture is for you, too. You belong here.’”